I love FALL, when the air is crisp and the kids run around trying to catch leaves as they fall in yellow and red showers on the way home from the bus stop after school.  It is chilly and getting chiller by the day.

I am hosting a potluck dinner and what better meal than chili.  I find it appeals to most people, except those who do not like spicy food.  You can definitely make chili that is mild but I would end up smothering it with jalapeños and hot sauce, which would ruin any flavors that have been developed.  Therefore, I say go for it and let the non-spicy crowd stick to the side dishes or offer up some sour cream to ease the spice.

I have adapted the recipe I heard on the Splendid Table (I am posting the link) while driving my fifty mile taxi route of baseball games this past Saturday.  I love beans in chili, I am cooking for a crowd and I wanted to make a LOT so I started there…

THE BEANS

Get a 1 lb. bag of dried beans – I am using pinto but you can pick your favorite.  Bring it to a boil in a big pot of water, boil for 2 minutes.  Cover, turn it off and let it sit for an hour or longer.  This is to replace soaking your beans overnight, which reduces cooking time and helps eliminate indigestible sugars that cause gas.  (Yes, I looked it up and you can read all about it at http://missvickie.com/howto/beans/howtosoak.html)  I did this first step while making breakfast with the kids.  Now, I am gently cooking them while I make the chili.

THE CHILI

2 lbs. stew meat (I used 90-10%, which turned out to be very lean)

1 large vidalia onion, diced

1 poblano chile, seeded and diced (Poblanos vary in spiciness so try it before you put the entire chile in.  You might even want to wear gloves if you are very sensitive to heat while chopping)

1 orange bell pepper, diced

6 cloves of garlic, minced

1 can diced tomatoes, organic (I buy them by the case at Costco)

1-2 Tbsps. olive oil

SPICES

1-2 Tbsps. Ancho chili powder (from the grocery store) or I am using a special Hatch red chili powder that my dad buys from New Mexico and gives me by the pound.  Ooh la la… it is like gold to me and I love putting it in everything but it is hot!

1 tsp. roasted cumin powder (if you can find it) or ground cumin

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. mexican oregano (or regular)

1 Tbsp. paprika (you can used smoked if you like that flavor)

Cut your meat up into bit size pieces.  Salt and pepper them lightly and cook it in small batches, searing it on all sides.  I sprinkled a teaspoon of olive oil in the pan during the start of each batch because my meat was very lean.

Cut up the vegetables and garlic while you are cooking the meat, making your mise en place (French for having everything organized before cooking).  Pull out your spices and your measuring spoons.  This will speed up your cooking time, making it more relaxed as you can add ingredients as needed without going looking for them.

When your meat is finished, add a teaspoon of olive oil and cook the onions – scrapping up the brown bits, then add the spices and toast for 1 minute.

Add the vegetables, garlic and a sprinkle of salt and pepper – cook for 2 minutes.  (I am not measuring my salt and pepper because I want to layer the salt by taste.  I would say I am up to about 1 ½ teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper between salting the meat and adding it now.) 

Almost time to walk away… add the meat back into the pot, the can of tomatoes and water to cover everything.  Turn to simmer, uncovered and cook for an hour.  

Relax for a bit with a good book but first…

Check the beans, they may be finished now.  How do you know?  Taste them.  Are they soft and yummy?  Mine have been on for 1 hour and are perfect.

Tick, tock… after an hour, I returned to my chili pot and tasted the meat.  It has turned soft but not falling apart.  Cook longer if you would like the meat softer.  I planned to heat the chili again in my crockpot so I am stopping the cooking now.  I added the beans and their cooking liquid to my chili and refrigerated everything overnight.  

Into my crock pot goes the chili to warm up for the party!  Perfect!  

If you would like it to be thicker, cook it until it thickens or I learned a tip from the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond… mix 2 Tbsps. of cornmeal (or masa harina if you have it) with a ¼ cup of water, add it and bring the chili back to a boil.  You won’t be able to tell it is in there but it tastes wonderful and is a great thickener.

Serve with your favorite toppings – sliced scallions, grated cheese, hot sauce for the die hards, sour cream and/or sliced avocado.